Help with clam please

[sushiboss]

Hello and good morning reef community.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen my maxima clan open fully and figured it was just content but after inspecting its shell and not noticing new growth I am getting a bit concerned.

I’ve had this blue maxima for 2 years so I’m genuinely curious what’s going on.

8.3 alk
440 calcium
1650 mag
25 nitrate
.2 phosphate
1.025 salt

Turf scrubber
Protein skimmer
Mechanical filtration

It’s getting roughly 250-280 par.

Adequate water movement to get some nice movement on the mantle when it extends.

Dosing phyto 3 times weekly.

Likely missing some things to point out but i posted in the general discussion and am not getting a ton of traction.

Concerned about pinched mantle disease or something of the sort.

It’s been a while since it’s opened fully. Acts normal reacts to light fully closes when you get too close.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tcook]

Is that Hollywood stunner right next to it? They have some long nasty sweepers?

 

[sushiboss]

Is that Hollywood stunner right next to it? They have some long nasty sweepers?

It looks and appears close but it’s roughly 6-8” away.

Space invader chalice is the name I know it by. The size of a basketball

 

[Tcook]

Your right. Same potential though. Clam further away looks good. Have you had them same amount of time?

Will request the experts @minus9 @OrionN

 

[sushiboss]

Your right. Same potential though. Clam further away looks good. Have you had them same amount of time?

Will request the experts @minus9 @OrionN

The Red Sea maxima was from my lfs and the crocea tear drop was from reefapalooza Orlando 2024.

About a year apart.

Red Sea roughly 2 years
Crocea roughly 1 year

Thanks in advance

 

[sushiboss]

Hard to see but this is about as much as I get it to open.

But if an ugly photo .

About 2 months old

Second photo fully opened is back in October

Chalice had to be moved due to sheer size and growth

 

[LagoonReefLife]

Any clam that stays closed (or partially) for any length of time is not happy.

It takes energy to stay closed, and it’s not feeding on light (as much in this case).
When you observe this, something’s not right.

Have you inspected it for parasites? Such as pyramid snails.
They could have come in from anything new introduced to the tank.

Outside of that, there’s a lot of stuff to check and look over.
I recommend reading this book, it covers everything there is to know about clam cars in reef aquariums, including problems: https://a.co/d/ekuTZeg

How large is the clam?

Smaller clams (especially Maximas) are just not as hardy. So if you’re parameters aren’t stable, or it hasn’t been able to adapt, it’s going to suffer more if it’s small.

How long has it been closed?
The longer it stays closed the weaker it gets, eventually too weak to hold itself closed.

 

[minus9]

I don’t think it’s pmd, as the crocea has been there for a year. I would try to increase lighting so you’re hitting the mid 300’s. You can increase over a couple of weeks so you don’t shock the other animals. Parameters seem fine.

 

[minus9]

Looking closer at the pics, maybe the shell can't open because it's "pinched" by the surrounding rocks? Is it attached to the rock(s) now?

 

[sushiboss]

I don’t think it’s pmd, as the crocea has been there for a year. I would try to increase lighting so you’re hitting the mid 300’s. You can increase over a couple of weeks so you don’t shock the other animals. Parameters seem fine.

Lighting is
3 X-rays-15s g6
2 ai blades

I’m pretty maxed out on par without changing lights.

Wouldn’t they be more opened if it was inadequate lighting?

The crocea has been there for a year but I’d say it’s been 2-3 months since I remember this guy fully opened.

 

[sushiboss]

Looking closer at the pics, maybe the shell can't open because it's "pinched" by the surrounding rocks? Is it attached to the rock(s) now?

It is not attached via its foot. It is not wedged in. Just loosely held up by some rock indents.

It can still fully close but usually it’s just partially opened with its mantle halfway out.

No pests that I can see. More alarmingly is the lack of new growth.

Approximately 4”

 

[sushiboss]

Any clam that stays closed (or partially) for any length of time is not happy.

It takes energy to stay closed, and it’s not feeding on light (as much in this case).
When you observe this, something’s not right.

Have you inspected it for parasites? Such as pyramid snails.
They could have come in from anything new introduced to the tank.

Outside of that, there’s a lot of stuff to check and look over.
I recommend reading this book, it covers everything there is to know about clam cars in reef aquariums, including problems: https://a.co/d/ekuTZeg

How large is the clam?

Smaller clams (especially Maximas) are just not as hardy. So if you’re parameters aren’t stable, or it hasn’t been able to adapt, it’s going to suffer more if it’s small.

How long has it been closed?
The longer it stays closed the weaker it gets, eventually too weak to hold itself closed.

I wouldn’t say it’s “closed”. Just not fully opening up like it used to.

I picked it up yesterday to inspect and didn’t notice any pyramid snails or the likes.

 

[sushiboss]

Lighting is roughly 12 hours

With a 4 hour peak. Ab+ schedule

 

[LagoonReefLife]

I wouldn’t say it’s “closed”. Just not fully opening up like it used to.

I picked it up yesterday to inspect and didn’t notice any pyramid snails or the likes.

So that would mean it’s partially closed.
Not as bad, but something’s bothering it.

What kind of flow is it getting? Is it getting blasted, or not much?
With the Crocea looking good next to it, it’s probably not getting too much flow.

 

[LagoonReefLife]

Lighting is roughly 12 hours

With a 4 hour peak. Ab+ schedule

Can you measure it with a PAR meter?

Without measuring the light intensity, there’s no real way of knowing how much it’s getting.
Maxima and Crocea need at least 300-350+ PAR. Higher is better.

 

[Uncle99]

Leathers hold their territory by releasing turpins to bother neighbours.

 

[sushiboss]

Can you measure it with a PAR meter?

Without measuring the light intensity, there’s no real way of knowing how much it’s getting.
Maxima and Crocea need at least 300-350+ PAR. Higher is better.

I measure initially with an apogee par meter before I put the blade on and it was roughly 220.

Post adding the blade it’s upwards of 250-280 depending on time of day and water movement.

The way the crocea and surrounding corals are I’d say it’s nicely managed but I’m not sure.

The crocea mantle sort of rocks up and down lightly. Not so much that it closes up but gently moving it.

The maxima was the same way before it started clamming up.

 

[sushiboss]

To me it sorta does look “pinched” on the south side from this picture so idk.

 

[sushiboss]

Leathers hold their territory by releasing turpins to bother neighbours.

It’s been moved. They were very close but I’d say it’s likely 4-5” away from the toadstool currently

 

[LagoonReefLife]

I measure initially with an apogee par meter before I put the blade on and it was roughly 220.

Post adding the blade it’s upwards of 250-280 depending on time of day and water movement.

The way the crocea and surrounding corals are I’d say it’s nicely managed but I’m not sure.

The crocea mantle sort of rocks up and down lightly. Not so much that it closes up but gently moving it.

The maxima was the same way before it started clamming up.

Sounds like the flow is good.

You want to see the mantle move up and down some. But not fold over, or get pinned down.
Turbulent or pulsing flow is ideal so they don’t get beat up.

PAR should be measured with the flow turned off, no water movement, to get the baseline strongest levels.
(of course) it is going to fluctuate based on the flow, as it should, to give the animals variance.

That’s really not enough light for those two clams.
If that was what you measured when you first set the tank up, it’s likely decreased since then if your water clarity has decreased at all.
You can run some carbon (if you don’t already) to clear any pigments out of it (change it every 5-7 days).

I would find a way to increase the light intensity. You could put a spotlight on them with a Kessil a360x and one of their focus lenses, if there’s room anyways.